The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) assured Filipinos fearing for their statuses in the United States that they won’t be tattle tales and surrender them to the US government amid a planned crackdown on illegal migrants there by the incoming Trump administration.
Two women hold a placard that reads “Mass Deportation Now” on the third day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
DFA Migrant Workers Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said on Monday, Dec. 16, during the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing that it is not the Philippine government’s responsibility to enforce the immigration laws of the United States and apprehend undocumented Filipinos there.
“Wala sa amin magkukulong kasi hindi naman kami iyong law enforcer ng United States (We won’t put them in jail because we are not the law enforcer of the United States),” he explained.
“Mas lalong hindi kami magsusumbong. Hindi kami mga ‘Marites’. Obligasyon ng pamahalaan na protektahan ang lahat ng kababayan natin sa ibang bansa (The more that we won’t tell on them. We are not Marites. The government’s obligation is to protect all our citizens wherever in the world they may be),” the official stressed.
Marites is a Filipino slang term for someone who is gossipy, chatty, or extremely talkative.
De Vega assured them that they can go to the nearest Philippine embassies or consulates in Washington, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Hawaii (Guam and Honolulu), and Houston to process their papers.
“Pangako namin hindi kami manghuhuli, hindi kami mga Marites (We promise not to apprehend you, we are not Marites),” he said.
Currently, there are about 350,000 undocumented Filipinos living in the United States, the DFA official reported, as he assured that “law-abiding” Filipinos won’t be targeted by the incoming Trump administration.
He reminded Filipinos there that President-elect Donald Trump wished to deport those who are overstaying in the United States with crime records, those who pose security risks, and the millions who went there through the Biden administration’s policies but do not work and merely receive social benefits.
“Ang advice ng mga konsulado hintayin natin pag nag-presidente si Trump (Our consulates advise us to wait until Trump comes in),” he said.
“Ang sabi naman ni ambassador kung nag-aalala sila ay magkusa sila. Kaya naman nila umuwi, na sila bumili ng ticket (But the ambassador said that if they are worried, they can buy their own tickets and go home),” De Vega stated, adding that Filipinos who voluntarily come back home may be allowed to go back to the US but those who will be deported will be banned.
Still, he shared their doubts that the US will push to deport millions of undocumented migrants there because they would have to pay for their fares, which could set them back up by $1,000 for each person.
And while no Filipino has reached out to them for help, he gave assurance that the Philippine government is ready to assist them.
“Ayaw namin maging alarmist kasi mahal naman tayo ng US kahit sinong presidente diyan, presidente dito, maganda ‘yung ating relations (We don’t want to be alarmists because the US loves us whoever’s the president there or here, we have good relations),” he said.
The official advised Filipinos to “always keep in touch with the consulate” and “be law abiding.”